Junior drivers win opening rounds of the Texaco Havoline Ginetta Championship
The famous Texaco star was once again seen on the race track as the 2008 Texaco Havoline Ginetta Championship began at Oulton Park over Easter weekend. And it was the young drivers who immediately showed their intentions by beating the established stars to win the opening two rounds. Both of them were graduates from the 2007 Ginetta Junior Championship.Neither difficult qualifying and racing conditions at the Cheshire circuit, nor the prospect of racing seasoned campaigners, deterred Kieran Vernon and Paul Marsh from winning races one and two respectively. Both rounds had a full grid of 32 Ginetta G20 cars, the maximum allowed, a reflection of the popularity of what is the most affordable single make racing championship in the UK.
“It’s fantastic the season started so well with two young drivers already challenging the more experienced racers. I’m looking forward to seeing how the race for the championship develops, and sharing the Ginetta experience with our trade partners and customers," said Darren Borras, UK manager, Chevron Global Lubricants.
It is the second year that Chevron Global Lubricants, through the Texaco and Havoline brands, has supported the championship. Each of the cars carried the famous Texaco star logo to promote the Havoline Performance Plus customer retention programme.
The Texaco brand has a long and successful history of supporting global motor sport through its Havoline lubricant brand. Racing greats such as Mario Andretti, James Hunt, Nigel Mansell, Davey Allison and Juan Pablo Montoya have sat behind the wheel of a Texaco/Havoline race car, to name just a few. In recent years the company has supported entrants in both the British Touring Car Championship and the British GT Championship.
The next round of the Texaco Havoline Ginetta Championship will be held at Cadwell Park on the 5-6 April. It will also be the first Ginetta Festival race day where all the racing and off track activity will be for Ginetta cars.